Summary

Goldmund begins to remember what little he knew of his mother, whom his father had forbidden him to discuss. She was a beautiful noblewoman of poor birth who had a reputation for wildness. After her marriage, she lived quietly for a while but returned to her old ways of seducing men, and then disappeared. His father raised Goldmund but became embittered and instilled in the boy the belief that he must become a monk to atone for his mother's sins. Goldmund had forgotten another image of his mother as a kind and lovely presence, which was separate from his father's depiction of her, and he recalled this image now. He feels much better for it, and attributes his "cure" to Narcissus, who realizes his young friend is on the cusp of a major change in his life. Goldmund begins dreaming of his mother as kind and beautiful...